


The Body Never Lies

by LittlePeachEmoji



Series: Hao Ting/Xi Gu (っ◔◡◔)っ ❤ [2]
Category: HIStory3 - 那一天 | HIStory3: Make Our Days Count (TV)
Genre: A little Boxiang fluff because he's so dramatic, Again we stan, Bisexual Male Character, Boys' Love, Canon Gay Character, Canon Gay Relationship, Canon LGBTQ Character, Cheeks will be clapped, Family Drama, Gay, Gay Male Character, Gay Sex, I go into his sister's character for fun, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, She's cool and we stan, Wanted to flesh things out before jumping into the porn ❤, Words will be said, You know the drill ya nasty ❤
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:48:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28096431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittlePeachEmoji/pseuds/LittlePeachEmoji
Summary: Hao Ting had an amazing *spicy* dream about Xi Gu while he had a fever over the weekend...it was too good to be true. But when he says he wants "the real thing" to Xi Gu, Xi Gu looks like his feelings are hurt. Confused, Hao Ting eventually realizes maybe it wasn't a dream after all...Loose continuation of Yu Xi and the Beast, delves into Hao Ting's background and his secrets. Some fluff and humor thrown in for flavor. Ends with Xi Gu getting absolutely railed (◡‿◡✿)
Relationships: Xiang Haoting/Yu Xigu
Series: Hao Ting/Xi Gu (っ◔◡◔)っ ❤ [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2058252
Comments: 6
Kudos: 57





	The Body Never Lies

**Author's Note:**

> I'M BACK! Has it been 11 months? Mayhaps. (◔◡◔) decided to loosely continue Hao Ting and Xi Gu's story. Wrote this over many hours over a couple of days, so apologies for any grammar errors/typos. Helpful to read part 1 of the series but not required. Enjoy!

Hao Ting liked to run his mechanical pencil across his lips the same way each time. Softly, he’d turn it along the bottom one. Just as it curved to a point, he’d pull the lead tip across the upper one. He did it so gently so as not to leave lead on his lips, which biology class asserted was a health concern. In fact lead could poison you--symptoms included memory loss and tingling of the hands and feet. Haoting worried about the former; he’d had a fever a few days ago, and little memory of what happened. As for the tingling in his hands and feet, it was because he was looking at Xi Gu across the room, not because of the pencil at his lips. He put the pencil in his lap anyway, twirling it between his fingers. 

The teacher prattled on.  _ Zhao Han, what are the main organs involved in the respiratory system?  _ (Xi Gu shifted out of sight. Hao Ting leaned back to get a better view of him).  _ That’s right, the nose, nasopharynx, trachea, and lungs. The diaphragm is involved but that’s not an organ, it’s a sheet of internal skeletal muscle.  _ (Xi Gu scratched his ear. It was a cloudy day outside and the window cast blue light on his soft fingernails).  _ Hao Ting, what are the main organs involved in the digestive system? _

(Xi Gu rubbed his shoulder, one finger tucked into his shirt collar).  _ Xiang Hao Ting?  _ (Xi Gu turned his face to Hao Ting, puzzled. His fingers curled at his lips).

“Xiang Hao Ting.”

A tablemate slapped him on the shoulder. Hao Ting clicked his tongue, ready to shove Sun Bo back.

“Xiang Hao Ting!” The teacher repeated. “Did you fall asleep with your eyes open?”

His tablemates snorted, biting their lips. They kept their heads down.

Hao Ting leapt up and bowed. “No, sir. I apologize, sir.”

“Did you hear my question?”

“Uh…” Hao Ting examined his shoelaces. “The...uh...lymphatic system contains—”

“Digestive system.” 

More snickering. 

“The digestive system contains...the stomach, liver, pancreas...gallbladder, esophagus…um...intestines…”

The teacher was writing his correct, while fumbling, answers on the whiteboard. Hao Ting shot his tablemates a panicked look. They were equally bewildered, shrugging. Hao Ting glanced at Xi Gu. Xi Gu’s eyes were wide and bright as he nodded in support. He tapped his lips with one finger. 

“Mouth—”

Xi Gu shook his head; he stuck out his tongue and tapped that. 

“I mean, tongue—”

Xi Gu nodded and tapped his teeth. 

“And teeth.” Hao Ting straightened up, smiling now.

Xi Gu waved as if to say  _ wait! _ He tapped his tongue again. 

“And…” Hao Ting stalled. 

Xi Gu sucked his finger, kissing it. He let it rest on his tongue. 

Hao Ting’s whisper leapt to normal volume as he figured it out. “Kiss--SALIVA. Salivary glands.”

More snorting. “Kiss? Did he say kiss?” Students giggled. The teacher shushed them. 

“You are correct, Hao Ting. Next time, try not to take all day.”

“Yes sir,” Hao Ting muttered, tucking his hair behind his ears. It never stayed; it wasn’t quite long enough. He sat back down. He smiled at Xi Gu:  _ thank you.  _ Xi Gu smiled while his eyes traveled coyly downwards, like a charming courtesan.  _ Of course.  _

Xi Gu seemed to have taken on an unbearable sweetness. In the hallway headed to lunch, Hao Ting wanted to run up and put his hand on the small of Xi Gu’s back. Xi Gu slipped his backpack over his shoulder like he was applying an elegant costume; his footsteps seemed easy and fluid, like a lily pad gliding on a lake. Every time he turned his face there was a new way to admire his jaw. Not even Sun Bo could jostle Hao Ting out of his fixation; everywhere Xi Gu went, Hao Ting followed, looking enchanted as a fairytale prince. 

Sun Bo would have teased him mercilessly for this if he himself wasn’t fawning over Zhi Gang. To save him some face, Sun Bo quietly guided the crew elsewhere for lunch, allowing whatever transpired between Hao Ting and Xi Gu to transpire further. 

Xi Gu made it to the roof. He spread his arms across the railing, as if he could embrace the whole grey city before him. He turned a cheek to his shoulder, feeling Hao Ting’s presence. “You need to study more in biology.” He said. 

Hao Ting swallowed. Even Xi Gu’s voice had a singing quality to it now, so unlike the inhibited and tight one he had when they first met. “I know.” Hao Ting said. “Thanks for helping me.”

“I was afraid you wouldn’t get that last one.”

“It looked like you were—” Hao Ting chewed his cheek.  _ Should he tell him?  _ “It looked like—something else.” 

“I was trying to show you my saliva,” Xi Gu laughed, “not a  _ kiss. _ But you said kiss.” 

“That’s what was on my mind,” Hao Ting smiled. 

Xi Gu pulled his arms inward on the railing. His body had a stiffness to it now, a familiar awkwardness. Hao Ting approached. 

“We can’t do it here,” Xi Gu blurted. 

“Hah?”

“We can’t—not here, but later? At my apartment? We can...be alone…” 

Hao Ting squinted. “And do what?”

Xi Gu’s ears turned red. “Well…” he fidgeted. Hao Ting put a hand on each side of the railing, effectively pinning him there. If Hao Ting stepped closer, their hips would touch. 

Xi Gu dared turn around, his eyes immediately caught in Hao Ting’s smolder. 

“I asked...do what? When we’re alone?” Hao Ting smiled. “What did you have in mind?”

“Don’t make me say it,” Xi Gu meant to scold, but it sounded like a pout. 

“You know, this weekend I had a dream,” Hao Ting pulled his hands along the railing until they found Xi Gu’s back. “That I ate something delicious.” Hao Ting’s hands travelled his spine. “Ripe...juicy…” he found Xi Gu’s rear and squeezed. 

“Xiang Hao Ting,” he yelped.

Hao Ting spun him by the shoulders. He held Xi Gu’s waist and rolled his hips up Xi Gu’s ass. It fit between his cheeks like meat ready to be pinched into dumplings. 

“Mmh…” Hao Ting closed his eyes. “But it was just a dream...Yu Xi Gu, I’m sorry...I want the real thing.”

The city grew hazy between Xi Gu’s eyelashes. He was lost in the slow grind of Hao Ting’s hips into his. “The...the real thing?”

“Mm hm…” Hao Ting answered absently, ready to dive for Xi Gu’s neck. Xi Gu turned around before Hao Ting had a chance. 

Something in Xi Gu’s face had closed. His eyes glimmered. He moved out of Hao Ting’s now limp arms and slipped his backpack back on his shoulder. “Sorry. I need some time alone.”

“What? Why?”

“Give me some space,” his voice broke as he rushed for the roof’s exit door. Hao Ting followed him, calling after him. He held the door open and watched Xi Gu run down the stairwell, tears streaking his face. 

* * *

Yong Xing had just bought the Sleeping Rose Palette by Whisper. She was looking forward to trying Glitter Kiss on her brow bones, Dawn on her lids, and Indigo Morning on her waterlines. The check-out girl recommended this combination after complimenting Yong Xing’s dewy skin. “It’s sweat,” Yong Xing had wanted to say; makeup stores made her nervous. Everyone was too pretty and polite. She felt goofy and juvenile in her yellow shorts and black zip up jacket—clothing she’d had since middle school. 

“Thank you for the advice,” Yong Xing said to her. She smiled back like a parent watching a toddler try to walk. Yong Xing would have been snarky had she not badly needed any makeup advice that came her way. She was at the age where prettiness was paramount and she also wanted to be in the same league as her brother, who was like a Taiwanese Cristiano Ronaldo. She wasn’t sure she could achieve this, though, as she slipped on her cat ear headphones for the bus ride home. The store’s little pink bag with cream-colored tissue paper looked odd alongside her awkward knees and burgundy combat boots. 

She listened to Japanese pop as she went through the apartment gate. Hao Ting ought to be home now, probably with that guy Xi Gu he had started studying with. Hao Ting was weird with him when the family first met him, guiding him to his room by his shoulders. When they turned down the hall, Hao Ting’s pinky caught a few of Xi Gu’s fingers and pulled him inside. Yong Xing had squinted at this, curious. 

She put her Whisper bag on the coffee table and slipped off her shoes, then her headphones. Immediately, she heard it. Little whimpers, some moaning. She grimaced. Hao Ting had only brought his girlfriend Si Yu here twice, and each time it sounded something like that. It suddenly accelerated, moans swirling—Si Yu’s voice sounded kind of low—then clapping.  _ I can’t listen to this,  _ Yong Xing put on her slippers—where were Si Yu’s shoes? There were only boy shoes, and they weren’t Hao Ting’s, they were smaller—

By the time Yong Xing understood she had already exited the apartment and was standing blank-faced in the hallway. She knew her brother extremely well. Everything about him, she had thought. He hated bell peppers and learning the piano. If he couldn’t sleep at night he’d bounce a ball on the wall, back and forth, just loud enough to wake Yong Xing up. When she’d go into his room to scold him, he’d ask if she wanted to go eat some ice cream and they would go sit on the counters in the kitchen, eating right out of the tub. They both fell off the same ride at the Hello Kitty theme park as kids, Hao Ting the first year they went, and Yong Xing the second. When Hao Ting did it, hecut his knee, and sat on the cement wailing, Yong Xing ran to him like an animal and pressed her mouth to his wound, wanting to stop the bleeding, suck out dirt and toxins. Their mother grabbed her arm, half-laughing. “What are you doing, Xiao Xing? That’s dirty!” 

“Helping,” Yong Xing spat his blood through her teeth. Hao Ting had stopped crying, staring at Yong Xing in wonder.

“You don’t need to do that, he’s fine,” their mother pulled Hao Ting’s leg in front of her to apply a bandaid. “Go to Baba and wash out your mouth.”

Yong Xing obeyed, but only after grinning at Hao Ting for a bit longer. There was a certain bond between them now, which their parents found impenetrable. Schools also learned of its strength. When school started again, Hao Ting got into his first fist fight with a boy who called Yong Xing ugly. Hao Ting won. When he and Yong Xing walked home that day, Hao Ting’s eye bruised and lips split, they hooked their arms together, marching in the sun, their chins up. 

Hao Ting later laughed that his parents couldn’t be upset about this. Yong Xing was born in the year of the dragon and he of the tiger. They were sun signs, born with Yang energy, full of fire and daring. Their parents should be grateful that they rarely fought with each other—they consciously avoided doing so, because both knew the other would go feral when it came to getting what they wanted. 

Yong Xing tried to invent ways she could have foreseen this. Had Hao Ting ever looked at a boy that way? If so, not in front of her. And he wasn’t just looking at a boy, he was apparently...going the full mile. She squatted on the ground and stared at the red and gold carpet. There was a dark splotch in front of their neighbor’s door that had faded over time. Hao Ting had told her when he cheated on a test once, when he broke a girl’s heart, when he broke another girl’s heart, when he spread a nasty rumor about a teacher. They talked about regrets and dreams and their own cruelty and their crushes and the meaning of life, without hesitation, without restraint. And now here was Hao Ting's whole other self, several feet and a few doors away, doing with a boy what he had done with Si Yu. 

Yong Xing bit her lip. Mama and Baba would not approve, that much was certain. They better not be on their way home. She stood up and checked the hallway anxiously. She bumped into a neighbor as she turned the corner and almost screamed.

“Aiyo, sorry child, are you alright?” Her neighbor asked, her eyes wide. 

“I’m fine, I’m sorry,” Yong Xing bowed politely, letting her pass. She worried her neighbor would pass their apartment and hear everything, the two boy voices kissing and moaning. But she was being paranoid; she couldn’t even hear it outside, much less one of their elderly neighbors. She felt a little nauseous as she went back to the apartment door, eager for them to wrap it up before Mama and Baba waltzed up the stairs. She could stall, she thought. Her parents are easy to distract. She was a better liar than Hao Ting.

Just as she arrived at the door, it flew open, blowing Xi Gu’s hair up for a moment. 

“Hi,” he breathed, skirting past her immediately. 

“Hi,” she said like a question, watching him speed down the hallway like a businessman running late at the subway. Like that he was gone. 

The apartment was completely silent. Yong Xing closed the door. “I’m home,” she announced. No response. 

“Are you feeling any better?” She called. Again, no response. 

She dared approach Hao Ting’s room—what if he was  _ naked?  _ She nearly threw up. She peeked inside. Hao Ting was lying in his dark blue comforter, his hands on his stomach as if posing like a saint. He was sound asleep, fully dressed, breathing evenly. Had she imagined this? No way, Xi Gu had left blushing and flustered. She knew what she had heard, too, though she was eager to forget it. 

Just as she was going to leave, Hao Ting groaned and stretched. 

“Oh! Meimei,” he greeted her. “What’s that face for?” 

“Nothing,” she swallowed. “Feeling better?”

“Yeah,” he smiled. He ran his hand through his hair. “I had a really good dream.”

Yong Xing tilted her head. 

“You wouldn’t want to hear about it,” Hao Ting laughed, turning away from her to face his wall. “Where’s Mama and Baba?”

“On their way home, probably.”

She stood there for a moment, looking at his neck, his hair flopped on his pillow. She knew what Si Yu saw, what all those girls saw—what apparently Xi Gu saw, too. Simply minding his business at school or walking down the street, he had the power to stop hearts. There was something about him that was all the more alluring because he couldn’t quite be caught, he was too controlled, too dominating, always twisting situations to his favor. He was like a lion taunting its hunter, drawing people in only to slip away without them realizing it. And even after that, people still loved him, still treasured their memories with him. All his ex-girlfriends liked his social media posts and left kind comments. Yong Xing knew she was cute, but she did not have this quality, no one seemed to savor her that way; those who crushed on her did not meet her rejection with easy forgiveness like that. For the first time of her life, she felt jealous of her brother.

“You can tell me anything, you know.”

“Hm?” Hao Ting said as if half-asleep.

“You can tell me anything. I will never love you less.” 

Hao Ting looked over his shoulder, scrunching his nose. “Where’s this coming from?”

“You tell me,” she kicked a balled up sock out of the way and closed his door. 

* * *

“Sun Bo!” Hao Ting answered his phone, forgetting his troubles for a moment. He shot one last mini basketball into the hoop hooked onto his door. He missed, but ignored this and picked up the phone. “I was just going to call you. Listen, this afternoon Xi Gu—”

“Xi Gu got his heart broken!” Sun Bo wailed. 

“...Hah?”

“Xiang Hao Ting, you’re the worst!” 

Hao Ting closed his door and whispered urgently. “What are you talking about? Did he talk to you?”

“Of course! I saw him in the hallway crying, and I took him into one of the stairwells to ask what happened. Xiang Hao Ting, you’re an idiot! Yu Xi Gu said you shared the most romantic time in the world this weekend and that you don’t remember any of it!” 

Hao Ting blinked. 

“Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”

“I—”

“Don’t you know how hard it is for Xi Gu to open up to people? He said he bore his soul to you and today you said ‘you want the real thing’!”

“I’m—I’m sorry, Sun Bo, what are you talking about? We haven’t even—” he lowered his voice. “We haven’t done it yet, we’ve only kissed—”

“Why are you lying?”

“I’m not lying. What did he say happened?” 

“This past weekend he came to take care of you when you were sick, and you went all the way!” 

A cold feeling washed over Hao Ting, his hands and feet tingling. “That...that was real?” He whispered. 

“Xiang Hao Ting, you are the worst boyfr—” Sun Bo froze. Hao Ting could practically hear his smile spreading. “Aiyo. Was it that good that you really thought it was a dream?” 

“It—it  _ was  _ a dream, I know Xi Gu doesn’t want to do it yet, so sometimes I dream about it, because—” Hao Ting halted, shaken.  _ It hadn’t been a dream? _

“Ah! It was so amazing you thought it was a dream? So romantic! My heart can’t take this!” Sun Bo cried. Hao Ting would have rolled his eyes at his sappy friend had he not been so shocked. 

“I remember it so vividly, I just thought—there’s no way Xi Gu would—aiya,” Hao Ting clutched his thumping heart. Just like when he had first told Xi Gu he liked him, the way his blood rushed, the way the streetlights illuminated Xi Gu’s face. When he took Xi Gu’s hand and put it on his chest, he thought he might cry from how beautiful Xi Gu was, and how much he loved him. “Impossible…”

“Tell him that! He’ll melt!” Sun Bo said. “He thinks you  _ forgot  _ you did it or something, not that it was so good that you thought it was a dream!”

“That doesn’t even make sense,” Hao Ting rubbed his temples with one hand. 

“Awww,” Sun Bo wailed. “I take it back, Hao Ting, I misunderstood. Tell Xi Gu the truth, and he’ll come back to you in no time!” Sun Bo gasped. “Zhi Gang is calling me! Bye, Hao Ting!”

“Wai—” Hao Ting started, but Sun Bo hung up. 

Hao Ting sat on his bed, bewildered. He didn’t think it was even possible to do something like that in the fog of a fever. No one else was home to corroborate, obviously, because his parents would have heard them, and they would have burst into the room to start a screaming match. Someone knocked on his door. 

“Hao Ting, can I borrow your charger?” Yong Xing said. 

Hao Ting flung the door open. He pulled down Yong Xing’s headphones, yanking her hair in the process. 

“Ow—”

“Did Xi Gu come over on Saturday?”

“Yeah.”

He stared at her wildly. “Did you—did we—” he struggled. 

“You had sex with him, yes.”

“AHAHA, Meimei, you are so funny!” He shouted over her, gripping her forearm. He looked into the hallway, his mother busy in the kitchen and his father watching TV. They hadn’t noticed. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Hao Ting said through gritted teeth, twisting her arm. 

“Hah? What do you mean, tell you? Freak.” She twisted out of his grip. “You don’t  _ remember?” _

“Xiang Hao Ting,” their mother called. 

“Hah?” Hao Ting yelled back, instinctively cupping his hand to Yong Xing’s mouth. 

“Are you at a good stopping place with your homework? I could use your help with dinner.” 

“Uh...not right now, can I help in a few minutes?”

“Okay,” she replied, plopping something into boiling water. The smell of pepper and soy sauce drifted into the hallway. 

Yong Xing slapped his hand off her mouth, but he still pulled her into his room. 

“When did it happen? Where?” Hao Ting interrogated her, his hands on his hips.

“Saturday. Here. Why don’t you have a shirt on?” 

“I was just exercising. I remember—ugh!” Hao Ting grabbed the sides of his head. “I thought it was a dream, but did we really…?”

Yong Xing was chewing bubble gum. She blew a bubble and popped it with her teeth. “Yeah.”

“Oh God…”

“I only heard like five seconds. I waited outside until Xi Gu left.”

Hao Ting paced, rubbing his jaw. 

“You’re telling me you don’t remember?” She asked.

“I remember, I remember everything, I just thought—I thought there’s no way it was real. It was too—it was too perfect.”

“Spare me the details,” she grimaced. 

“It’s possible to do that without realizing it?” He asked quietly. 

She shrugged. “You had a fever. You had weird dreams, probably. But that thing wasn’t a dream. Now if you would give me your charger…” she moved towards his outlet. 

“Is that why you said ‘you can tell me anything’? Once you got home?”

She froze. Hao Ting waited. He had never said this aloud. He had indeed, out of love and shame, spared her the details. He never told her there was a boy who kissed him after a soccer game in middle school, and there was a girl who kissed him a week later in an empty classroom, and that when he watched porn both gay and straight were equally effective, and that when he watched those romance movies with her, he evaluated them solely on which lead he wanted to pin down on a table: sometimes it was the woman, sometimes it was the man. There are some things you don’t share, even between the closest of siblings. He’d hoped a woman would ultimately win over his heart, and he would never have to speak about the boys who’d won it before, and he could dazzle his parents with a normal marriage and biological grandchildren, and he would go to his grave never saying how widely he had loved, how many heads of hair he had yanked, how at hot springs he’d scan all those white robes and hunger for whatever bodies they concealed. 

“I just wish you’d told me.” 

Hao Ting swallowed, rubbing his hands on his gym shorts. They were a slick material and did not relieve his sweat. “I’m sorry. You understand...why I never said anything, right?”

“Yeah.” She thought of their mother chopping vegetables, their father glaring at the news on TV. Their simplicity, their commonness. Sometimes she wondered at how much they knew of their children at all. 

“I’m not our parents,” Yong Xing said. “I wouldn’t see you differently because of something like this.” She smiled. “You’re just as gross to me as you were before.” 

Hao Ting smiled. All was well. “Get out of my room.”

“Not without your charger.” 

He pulled it from his wall and flung it at her face, but she caught it with one hand. She put her headphones back on. “Go help Mom with dinner.”

His shoulders dropped as she left the room. “Ugh, can you do it instead?”

“Not unless you pay me,” she replied. She sang along to some pop song and retreated into her room. 

While Hao Ting helped his mother, he watched how she brushed her hands on her apron and how she tucked hair behind her ears. Would he be able to keep her, the way he got to keep Yong Xing, or would he lose her? He looked at his father, his eyes still glued on the TV, that perpetually grumpy but oddly stylish face. Would he accept Xi Gu as a son-in-law? 

Hao Ting shook his head and continued chopping mushrooms. If it all went to hell, at least he could remember this, when it was quiet, when it was a school night, and his parents only disapproved of him for normal reasons and to a normal degree. 

When his parents went to bed that night, they thought it was strange he gave them a hug before bed. They did not hear him sneak out the front door minutes later. 

* * *

Xi Gu had grown to expect the unexpected with Hao Ting, but this was a bit much. Hao Ting was standing in the rain and in the dark, right outside the entrance to his apartment. 

“What are you doing?” Xi Gu called from his window. He hurried down to the entrance before Hao Ting could answer. 

“You’re not even wearing a jacket,” Xi Gu opened the door. “Why are you wearing your school button up, and gym shorts—”

Hao Ting grabbed his arms. “I thought it was a dream. I thought it was all a dream.” 

Xi Gu watched rain water drip from Hao Ting’s brows and settle in the curves of his eyelashes. His hair was plastered to his forehead. “Hah?”

“I thought—when we did it, I thought it was a dream. I’m sorry.”

Xi Gu looked into his deep brown eyes, as if one of them might be holding a lie. “Why did you think—”

“It was too perfect, it was—it was too good. I thought I only could have dreamed something like that.”

Xi Gu looked down at his arms, still in Hao Ting’s grip. The rain was cold and hard, prickling his skin. 

“Please,” Hao Ting breathed. “Yu Xi Gu, I’m sorry.”

“You did have a fever,” Xi Gu said, looking up at him. 

Hao Ting nodded vigorously. “And I thought...there’s no way this could’ve happened in real life.” His hands slid down to hold Xi Gu’s. “I thought you weren’t ready, so I never told you what I wanted to do, how I wanted to do it...I had lots of dreams like that. That’s how badly I wanted you…”

Xi Gu chewed his cheek, eyes fixed on Hao Ting’s wet tennis shoes. “Never told me? You didn’t have to...you’re never subtle…”

Hao Ting knelt. “Let’s make love again!” He practically yelled. 

Xi Gu is not sure what compelled him to look up. Maybe it was a premonition that hadn’t really formed into a thought yet. But he met the onlooker’s eyes straight on. It was his middle-aged neighbor, a single father with two daughters in middle school. He worked at a fish market, so he often smelled like fish, and he was missing two teeth, one on the top and another on the bottom. He always had a kind word to say. There he was at the curb, standing in a ridiculous but suitably large yellow raincoat. One hand held a plastic bag probably full of food, and the other his keys, poised for the door but frozen in mid air. 

Hao Ting looked behind him to see what Xi Gu was looking at. He leapt to his feet, staring at the ground. He moved out of the way, muttering “sorry” though it got lost in the unrelenting rain. The man seemed to be considering something, blinking several times at the pavement in front of him, and then he slowly approached the door. 

“I’m sorry to have interrupted,” he said, squeezing past a stunned Xi Gu. He wiped his boots on the welcome mat, turning to look at the pair once more. Only Hao Ting met his eyes, looking like a guilty puppy.

“You should come in, it’s raining very hard.” He said.

Hao Ting’s eyes traveled the floor as he stepped inside. The entryway was quite narrow, so it took some effort to not have his body touch Xi Gu’s. He tripped on the corner of the welcome mat, and caught himself by pinning a hand to the wall, near Xi Gu’s ear. At last, Xi Gu snapped to attention, his eyes caught in Hao Ting’s. 

The neighbor smiled. Youth are always the same. He held up his bag of food for a moment, which was fogging up with steam. “They were having a buy one get one free for pork buns down the street. I was going to give you any leftovers, Yu Xi Gu,” he said quietly. “Do you want it now, or should I leave some at your door…?” 

“Pork buns? Awesome!” Hao Ting exclaimed. He bowed at the neighbor, his hands at his chin. “That’s so kind of you, sir. Xi Gu will enjoy them very much.”

“I’ve seen you around before, young man. What’s your name?”

Xi Gu considered running up the stairs and throwing himself out of a window. That would be one way to avoid this conversation. 

“I’m Xiang Hao Ting, sir. I’m Xi Gu’s—” he froze. He glanced at Xi Gu, who was still thinking about the various windows he could jump out of. 

The neighbor kept his eyebrows raised until it became clear neither of them would finish that sentence. “Ah,” he waved his arm. “Anyway. I’m Li Jing, I live on the second floor down the hall. It’s very nice to meet you, though I apologize for the circumstances…” he watched them both flush. “I’ll just leave any leftovers at your door. Goodnight.” He bowed to them, then hurried up the stairs. He chuckled to himself. He had known from the first moment he saw them together. Xi Gu had him utterly transfixed. Hao Ting hung on his every word, smiled at him like he was sweet as a mango. Mr. Li used to look at his wife that way before she passed. Mr. Li of course hadn’t said anything, but he had seen (and somewhat heard) Hao Ting’s first confession, watched him put Xi Gu’s hand on his chest. He closed the blinds to give them privacy, even though they would never know he saw them. He chuckled then just as he did now, going up the stairs, wishing them every happiness. 

With Mr. Li out of sight, Xi Gu slowly turned his head to Hao Ting. “I’m going to kill you, and then myself.”

“Baby,” Hao Ting laughed. “It’s fine. If he heard anything, he clearly doesn’t care.”

“I’ve never been more embarrassed in my life.”

“I just confessed to you that I genuinely thought I was dreaming when we had our first time. That’s pretty embarrassing, right?”

“You’re never embarrassed.” Xi Gu started hiking the stairs. 

“Well…” Hao Ting had no counter argument. Xi Gu was right. The last time he felt embarrassed was when he walked into a telephone pole while passing a lingerie shop when he was twelve. Some bystanders giggled that he had stared so hard, while he rubbed his aching forehead. He didn’t like the feeling and swore to never be embarrassed again—a promise he’d clearly kept, as everyone knew Hao Ting said whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.

“You’re right, I’m not embarrassed,” Hao Ting said as Xi Gu struggled with his keys at his apartment door. Hao Ting leaned against the wall nearby. “If anything, it’s a compliment to you. It means you were so good, I thought it couldn’t be happening for real.” He flexed one eyebrow. 

Xi Gu clicked his tongue and tried his keys again, changing the angle. 

Hao Ting blinked. “Sun Bo said if I said that to you, you’d melt.”

“Maybe if you had said it not right after saying you want to make love to me in front of my neighbor.”

“Make love to you in front of your neighbor? Xi Gu, I had no idea you were into...that.”

Xi Gu snapped his head to him, dropping his keys to his side. His mouth was a tight line.

“What else are you into? I like roleplay. You could be a maid and I the master you must please.”

“Die.”

“I could be a professor and you a student seeking an internship.”

“Never.”

“Warden and prisoner? With that one I feel like...” Hao Ting looked down and tugged on his cuffs, still damp. “I feel like you should be the warden and I the prisoner.” He looked up with just his eyes.

Xi Gu flushed. “S-Stop.” 

A fatal error. Hao Ting’s smile spread. Xi Gu turned back to his door and fumbled with his keys again. Hao Ting put his hands on the door, near Xi Gu’s shoulders. Xi Gu dropped his keys—Hao Ting dove for them. Xi Gu turned around and found Hao Ting on his knees, his face at his thighs. Hao Ting looked up at him, half-smiling. Xi Gu swallowed. 

“Give me my keys,” Xi Gu whispered. 

Hao Ting hooked the key ring between his teeth. He rose slowly, never leaving Xi Gu’s eyes. Hao Ting took Xi Gu’s wrists and held them at his back. 

“Here. Take them,” he flicked up his eyebrows. 

_ How did he think of these things?!  _ Xi Gu struggled to free his hands. Hao Ting was such a natural; he knew what erotic meant down to his very bones. Xi Gu could feel Hao Ting’s heat mingle with his own; his still damp shirt showing the exquisite shape of his shoulders.

Left with no other choice, Xi Gu leaned in to bite the keys, but Hao Ting took it out of his mouth and trapped Xi Gu in a kiss. Every time, it felt like Hao Ting couldn’t get enough of him, going fast, going slow, savoring every moment their lips and tongues danced. Xi Gu remembered all the times Hao Ting ate something delicious, the noise of pleasure he would make, the way he’d lick his lips. Xi Gu would never tell him, but one time just watching him while they ate lunch with all of his friends, he had to use his windbreaker to cover his arousal. Hao Ting loved to eat, and Xi Gu loved to be eaten.

“Hm—mmh…” Xi Gu moaned, softly running his arms up Hao Ting’s back. 

“Mmh,” Hao Ting answered in his urgent baritone. He jammed the keys into the door, unwilling to leave Xi Gu’s lips. He kicked the door open and before Xi Gu could fall, Hao Ting clasped him. 

“Ah...your…” Hao Ting stopped to appreciate the erection pressing into his own. 

“It’s not…” Xi Gu trailed. Hao Ting smiled.  _ The body never lies.  _

Xi Gu backed into the room while Hao Ting shut the door with his foot. He tossed the keys onto the bed. There was a streetlight casting a large gold stripe into the otherwise dark room. It caught part of Hao Ting’s face, his wet hair, a mischievous dimple. 

Xi Gu hit the wall and tugged his striped shirt over his member. “What are you going to do?” He said. 

“What do you  _ want _ me to do?” Hao Ting said. He swiftly unbuttoned his shirt and cast it aside. 

“Turn on the lights.” Xi Gu said. Hao Ting obeyed, flipping a switch. String lights made the room glow orange. Combined with the streetlight, Hao Ting looked like the tiger he had been born in the year of. His hair, slick and fallen over his forehead, looked like stripes. 

“Close the curtains.” 

Hao Ting obeyed again. He returned to the center of the room, half-smiling. He ran a hand through his hair and tugged at the bulge in his shorts. His eyes ran up and down Xi Gu’s body. “What next, baby?”

Xi Gu wasn’t used to being talked to like this. He would have cringed if he wasn’t turned on. He swallowed and spoke louder, feigning confidence. “Take your tank off.”

Hao Ting grinned. “Yes, sir,” he said, removing his undershirt. He tossed that aside too. 

Xi Gu’s knees were getting weak. They hadn’t even done much yet and he was already close. He cupped himself, sliding down the wall. “Uh...um…” he managed, which came out as desperate moans. “I don’t know what to do next.” 

Hao Ting chuckled. Xi Gu was sitting like a manga character, knees to the floor, a foot next to each thigh. Even in low light he could see Xi Gu’s flushed face, his relaxed eyelids, the way he was pulling his shirt over his erection. 

“I think I have an idea on what to do next,” Hao Ting nodded. He dropped to each knee and began crawling toward Xi Gu. Xi Gu moved away. “Are you chasing me?” 

One of Hao Ting’s eyebrows flicked up. “Are you running away?” 

“No,” Xi Gu bit his lip to hide his smile. He wouldn’t tell Hao Ting, but he loved when Hao Ting was animal like this, moving like a panther, his shoulders gold and smooth and beautiful. With each step closer, Xi Gu scooted against the wall. After a few more evasions, Hao Ting grabbed Xi Gu’s foot and yanked him under himself. Xi Gu yelped, cupping a hand to his mouth.  _ Someone could hear! _ The thought excited Xi Gu even more.

“Mmh,” Hao Ting considered Xi Gu’s shyness. “Cute…” he said, sliding a hand down his torso. He grabbed his shirt and snatched it up to Xi Gu’s chin.

“Ah!” Xi Gu scrunched his eyes, so aroused he could die. 

Hao Ting chuckled, kissing his chest. He kissed his way to each nipple, sucking on it soft, then hard. Xi Gu jolted. As Hao Ting licked down to his hips, Xi Gu arched his back and spread his legs wider without meaning to. 

“Do you want it?” Hao Ting asked. 

“Ah—nnh!” Xi Gu squeezed his mouth, as if that could stifle his moans. “W-want what?”

“My…” Hao Ting held his gaze and took the back of Xi Gu’s knees. He grinded into the soft cleavage there, his basketball shorts sliding against Xi Gu’s linen pajamas. 

“Mmh!”

“Because I want yours…” Hao Ting dove for Xi Gu’s abdomen, kissing each soft muscle, his belly button, just above his pants where a sliver of dark red underwear could be seen. 

“Hao Ting,” Xi Gu moaned, looking at his face perched between his legs. Hao Ting tilted his head innocently. He bit the drawstring of Xi Gu’s pants and pulled up to undo its bow, light catching his Adam’s apple. Pants loose, he pulled them off Xi Gu’s legs. 

“Mmh…” Hao Ting buried his face in Xi Gu’s waist, relishing its warmth, its smell. He rubbed his hand across the maroon underwear neatly holding his package. “Can I suck you off?”

Xi Gu shivered. “Hm-mmh,” he assented. 

In this realm, Hao Ting could never disappoint. He balled up the underwear and threw it at the wall. He dove in, rolling his tongue around it, loosening his mouth, tightening, sucking, sliding.  Xi Gu wanted an eternity of this, but he could only manage a few minutes before he was overcome. “Ah! I’m—I’m gonna—” Xi Gu cried. 

Hao Ting stopped. “Not yet,” he smiled. “I’m not done with you yet.”

Xi Gu let his feet fall to the floor, still shaking with preorgasm. He tried to catch his breath. He sat up as Hao Ting rolled upright, their faces close, following each other. 

“I want…” Xi Gu breathed. “I want your…” He touched his palm to it, curling his fingers around it. Hao Ting swallowed. Xi Gu smiled at this moment of nervousness. He wouldn’t tell Hao Ting this, but his stuttering performance in biology class earlier was the cutest thing he had ever seen. 

Hao Ting sat down. Xi Gu curled his fingers into his waistband. They looked into each other’s eyes as Hao Ting lifted his hips and Xi Gu pulled off his shorts and underwear. Hao Ting kept one knee bent and laid the other flat. He touched himself almost shyly, looking at Xi Gu as if for approval. Xi Gu smiled. This side of Hao Ting was adorable.

Xi Gu bent down to each elbow. There it was, the ripest and most delicious fruit. Xi Gu looked up at Hao Ting as he ran each hand around his thighs, touching the dimple at his buttocks. 

“Ngh!” Hao Ting dropped his head back. His tip glistened with precum. He looked back at Xi Gu, panting, pleading. “Yu Xi Gu…” he bit his lip. 

Xi Gu made like he was going to kiss up the shaft, but instead kissed the delicate skin of his left inner thigh, then that of his right.  _ How much could he get away with? _

“Yu Xi Gu—!” Hao Ting shivered slightly at each brush of Xi Gu’s lips. Xi Gu migrated to each ball, running the tip of his tongue along them. 

“Hah—please—” 

Xi Gu had never heard Hao Ting’s voice like this. It was always deep and controlled, but now it was breaking, wavering, his moans sweet and dark as wine. “Please—” he looked down at Xi Gu. “Suck me…”

Xi Gu finally relieved him. As he sank down the shaft, Hao Ting gently touched his head, as if thanking Xi Gu for this descent. When Xi Gu reached the base, Hao Ting moaned, lost in pleasure. Xi Gu toyed with it, mixed his mouth and hands, tried to coax cum out of him like an artist coaxes paint out of a brush. Hao Ting, for all his playfulness, did not know happiness such as this, and flip-flopped between tense ecstasy and drunken rapture. 

“Unh...Yu Xi Gu, please…” Just as Hao Ting neared orgasm, he softly cupped Xi Gu’s jaw. He asked him that thing he wanted to ask him all the damn time, when Xi Gu looked up at him with those chocolate eyes, those sweet lips, that twinkling laugh that reminded him of watermelon candy: “please let me fuck you.”

Xi Gu smiled and rolled upright. He pulled off his shirt and laid flat on his back. He stroked himself, forgetting every shyness. “Come fuck me,” he breathed, still smiling, touching the back of his hand to his teeth. 

Hao Ting would remember, far in the future, if he had to do something painful or difficult, he would remember that Xi Gu did that, one hand at his mouth, and the other above his head. He would remember that he finally penetrated that last layer of Xi Gu’s shame and reservation, and that finally Xi Gu knew he was the best meal anyone could ask for, and that Hao Ting was insatiable. Hao Ting thought it would be impossible to ever feel discouraged ever again knowing his boyfriend could look like that. As much as Hao Ting liked his shyness, his defiance, his stiffness, it was this that made him love Xi Gu most: this self-possession, this equal and mutual desire for each other the way the sun wants sky, or the moon wants stars. 

Hao Ting ran a hand up his thighs and pinned him open at each knee. He sucked on his middle finger then rubbed Xi Gu’s hole, slicking it with saliva. He rested on one arm over Xi Gu, watching his face tense and melt with pleasure. Hao Ting slid a finger in; Xi Gu gasped. 

“This okay?” 

“Mmh, it feels good,” Xi Gu pulled Hao Ting’s face in for a kiss. Their tongues danced as Hao Ting played with him, rubbing in and out, curving and straightening his finger. He slowly added another finger, and then another, preparing Xi Gu. With each addition, Xi Gu moaned. He let his hand rest on Hao Ting’s hair, twirling a piece near the crown of his head. He smiled at Hao Ting. “Put it in…”

Hao Ting spit in his hand and stroked himself, making sure he was equally slick. When he set it at Xi Gu’s entrance, he breathed and put his hands on the floor near Xi Gu’s ears. As he pushed it in, Xi Gu’s legs curled around him, pulling him in. 

“Ah...” They moaned, lost in each other. Hao Ting pumped slowly, softly. He hooked one of Xi Gu’s legs over his shoulder, grinding into him, his torso waving as if dancing. Hypnotized, Xi Gu bit his finger, trying not to fall into orgasm so soon. 

Hao Ting, however, was never one for self-restraint to begin with, and certainly not when Xi Gu was sucking him in like that. He started off slow only to completely lose it in less than a minute. 

“Ah—Hao Ting—!” It was exhilarating, that speed. Hao Ting clapped Xi Gu, madly, like there was no way to get enough. Hao Ting was so turned on, so desperate, and their bodies so intertwined, that Xi Gu could feel his orgasm rising as if it were his own.

Xi Gu felt it pulse and cream inside him. Despite himself, he tried not to give in to that warm wash of orgasm. He could feel it spread on the back of his tongue, his tingling toes curling, the sweat speckling his body. Hao Ting pumped the last of his seed out, moaning, hitting Xi Gu’s g-spot just a few more times. It wasn’t much and yet Xi Gu couldn’t take it: “Anh!” He scrunched his eyes, arching his back. He raised his hips, legs shaking, tears eking their way out of the corners of his eyes. 

Hao Ting watched him shoot onto his own chest, shaking, releasing what Hao Ting considered the moan of the century. So intoxicating, so sweet, so wild. Xi Gu fell limp to the ground at last, both of them struggling to catch their breath. Hao Ting leaned back on his heels, running a hand over his forehead. Sweat had replaced the rain water from earlier. He thought of Xi Gu’s confident little “come fuck me” again and grinned. “Unreal,” he breathed. He fell beside Xi Gu, and they both stared at the ceiling.

“I love the way you do all these things,” Xi Gu said. He was still riding a wave of uncharacteristic boldness. “Sometimes just looking at you turns me on.”

Hao Ting glanced at him. “Me too! All the time! You know one time I saw you…” (he hadn't caught his breath yet and breathed deeply). “...in the library rubbing your lip while reading a book, and I had to go to the bathroom to jerk o—”

“Xiang Hao Ting,” Xi Gu scolded, grabbing his underwear with his foot and passing it to his hands. He was too exhausted to put them back on and gave up, dropping them by his side.  


“What? You didn’t want specifics?” Hao Ting grinned. 

“What time is it? How are you getting home?” Xi Gu willed himself to get up. He still had to do his night routine, and clean the dishes, and pack his lunch for tomorrow. The wind had just been knocked out of him, however, and his legs shook as he made his way to his feet. 

Hao Ting clicked his tongue. “Let me stay here. I’ll ask Meimei to cover for me. We’ve done it for each other lots of times. Besides, it’s still raining, and there’s no buses at this hour.”

“Call a cab.”

“You’re really kicking me out? I just had my dick in your a—”

“Shhh!” Xi Gu shushed him, scowling. 

“C’mon,” Hao Ting stood up with a groan. “Let me stay.”

Xi Gu used his shirt to clean himself up. “Put on your pants.” Xi Gu tossed him a clean dish towel to wipe himself off. Hao Ting wiped off his chest and nether regions, pouting. 

Xi Gu put his hands on his hips. “What about your school stuff?”

“I’ll grab it in the morning.”

“So you’ll take a cab in the morning?”

“I don’t have any money. I was going to ride your bike with you to my house, and then we can go to school together,” he smiled. 

Xi Gu felt like he was now responsible for a giant but very loving golden retriever. “Fine. But buy me breakfast.” 

Hao Ting cozied up in Xi Gu’s bed after helping with his chores and taking a quick shower together. They were plenty warm in his comforter, so they opted to sleep in just their underwear. Hao Ting spooned Xi Gu, breathing in his scent. 

* * *

In the morning, Hao Ting had hardly changed position, but Xi Gu was now facing him. Hao Ting smiled and kissed his nose. “Good morning,” he said. 

“Mmh,” Xi Gu groaned. 

Hao Ting suddenly gasped. “We forgot about the pork buns.”

“Hm?” Xi Gu replied, half-awake. 

Hao Ting climbed over him, already energetic that early in the morning.  _ Would they still be good after sitting out all night? _ He opened the door wide, instantly locking eyes with none other than the neighbor from last night. 

“Oh!” Hao Ting swung the door back to hide behind it, as if Mr. Li hadn’t just seen Hao Ting’s near nakedness.

“Aiyo,” Mr. Li covered his eyes. He set a styrofoam container on the floor and nudged it towards him with his foot. “I’m sorry. I was going to give you this last night, but by the time I came back down to do so it sounded like—well, you were busy.”

Hao Ting had promised himself to never feel embarrassed, but he couldn’t keep that promise after all. He blushed crimson. 

“Anyway, there it is. Enjoy.”

“You’re too kind, thank you,” Hao Ting managed, opening the door enough to grab it. “Have a good day, sir.”

“You too, you too,” he waddled down the hallway in his fishermen boots, muttering to himself. What are the chances that Hao Ting would have opened the door right at that moment? Well, they weren’t being careful at all, he rationalized. Anybody could have seen them outside making those declarations, seen Hao Ting stare longingly at Xi Gu’s window all those times. It wasn’t as embarrassing for him as it was for them, he was sure. In the end, he just found it sweet and silly. What can you do? It was love.

Hao Ting stood at the door, staring at the pork buns in his hands. 

“What?” Xi Gu asked, rolling onto an elbow. 

“I think your neighbor has it figured out,” Hao Ting chewed his cheek. “Sorry.”

Xi Gu blushed. He stood up and put the pork buns on the end table near the door. He put his arms around Hao Ting’s neck. “Whatever. I’m not ashamed of you.” 

Hao Ting smiled. “Me neither.”

Xi Gu gave him a light kiss. “Let’s get ready for school.”

He turned away but Hao Ting wouldn’t let him go without a real kiss. He relished his mouth, his warmth, then spun him around to hug him from behind. While Xi Gu laughed, Hao Ting watched his skin glow in the morning light. 


End file.
